Pat Benatar

Biography

Pat Benatar (born January 10, 1953) is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer that combined the power chords, tough sexuality, and powerful vocals of arena rock with polished mainstream pop/rock.

She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States. Hit songs included "Love Is a Battlefield", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "We Belong" and "Heartbreaker".

"I Need a Lover" was the first single to be released on August 27, 1979. However, both it and the next single, "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" (October 1979), were unsuccessful. Benatar's third single "Heartbreaker" was released in early December 1979 and became an immediate hit, climbing to #23 in the U.S. A fourth single "We Live for Love," which was written by her future husband Neil Giraldo, was released in February 1980, and reached U.S. #27.

Benatar's debut album “In the Heat of the Night” was released in October 1979, and reached #12 in the U.S. In August 1980, Benatar released her LP, “Crimes of Passion,” featuring her signature song "Hit Me with Your Best Shot." "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (U.S. #9) was her first single to break the U.S. Top 10 and eventually sold more than one million copies in the United States alone.

The album peaked for five consecutive weeks at U.S. #2 in January 1981 and eventually sold over five million copies, and a month later, Benatar won her first Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance of 1980. “Crimes of Passion” remained on the US album charts for 93 weeks and in the top 10 for more than six months, eventually becoming her second consecutive platinum certification by the RIAA.

In July 1981, she released her third LP, “Precious Time.” A month later the album hit #1 on the Billboard U.S. Top 200 LP chart. It was also her first to chart in the UK, reaching #30. The album's lead single, "Fire and Ice," was another big hit (US #17, AUS #30) and would win Benatar her second Grammy Award, this time for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance of 1981 and her third consecutive RIAA certified platinum album.

A hit single, "Shadows of the Night," (US #13, AUS #19) heralded a new LP, “Get Nervous,” released in late 1982. The album was another smash, reaching US #4, her fourth consecutive RIAA platinum certification, and the single would garner Benatar yet another Grammy, again for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance of 1982.

"Love Is a Battlefield" was released as a single from Benatar's 1983 album “Live from Earth.” The single has been certified gold and is her highest charting single in the United States, as it topped Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks and made number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at #13 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart and sold more than a million copies becoming her fifth consecutive RIAA platinum winner.

In October 1984, the single "We Belong" became another Top 5 smash in the US, and reached #7 in Australia. It was also Benatar's first ever UK top 40 hit, where it peaked at #22. In November, Benatar released her sixth album, “Tropico” (US #14, AUS #9, UK #31). Despite not making the US Top 10, it earned her a sixth consecutive RIAA platinum certification.

Benatar would hit the U.S. Top 10 with the #10 single "Invincible" (the theme from the movie, “The Legend of Billie Jean”) in 1985. "Sex As a Weapon" would climb as high as #28 in January 1986, and "Le Bel Age" (#54) in February. The album “Seven the Hard Way “peaked at #26, earning an RIAA Gold certification.

In July 1988, Benatar released her eighth album, “Wide Awake in Dreamland” (US #28, UK #11). A single lifted from the album, "All Fired Up" (written by Kerryn Tolhurst, ex-The Dingoes) reached #19 in both the US and the UK, and was a #2 smash in Australia, becoming one of the biggest hits of 1988 in that country. The album also earned an RIAA gold certification her last to garner that distinction.